Non-Traditional Families

Children from non-traditional families do just as well as those from traditional families
Studies consistently show that children from non-traditional families turn out just as well as, and sometimes better than, children from traditional families (e.g., those with heterosexual parents). This goes for families with lesbian mothers, gay fathers, and transgender parents, as well as biological and adoptive families. Discover our research-backed articles and blogs on non-traditional families below.

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Female same-sex parents spend considerably more time in child-focused activities than do heterosexual parents. Children adopted by gay fathers are more likely to show strong attachment than are children of heterosexual couples. Children conceived by donor insemination do just as well in single-mother families as in two-parent families.

Boys and girls raised by two lesbian mothers show less gendered behavior than do children raised by heterosexual couples, but neither are less masculine/feminine in terms of identity and behavior.

Various theories have been put forward about why children do so well in these different family forms. Perhaps same-sex parents have to invest more in forging a way forward than heterosexual parents. In adoption, the screening process for same-sex parents may be especially stringent.

Children of bisexual parents tend to have more emotional and mental health difficulties than those of heterosexual parents, but this was linked to the substantially greater stress many bisexual parents experience rather than to sexual orientation per se.

Children in non-traditional families can experience stigmatization in school, by society, and sometimes by wider family.

Researchers have found more consistent detriments to child development, both social-emotional and cognitive, in children who are being raised by grandparents. Grandparents raising children tend to receive fewer benefits and supports than do parents.

Similarly, problems are on average more likely in complex families than in families with two biological parents (e.g., stepfamilies, blended families). One reason could be the dilution of resources available to the children in these families. Another reason might be that fathers are prone to be excluded in such families.

Non-Traditional Families

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Articles 9 of 16